Roshambeaux brings unique sound to Savannah's new World of Beer

When Jarret Chastain and Kyle Obermeier first met each other, they felt instant dislike.

Fortunately, the two were able to mend their differences and form the duo Roshambeaux, which will play the World of Beer on June 30.

“We’ve been together for a little over two years,” Chastain says.

“In the past year and a half, we’ve done many tours, playing almost every weekend we’re out,” he says. “We’ve toured all over the place.

“The music is getting the most amazing responses. We want to keep doing it and going further out.”

It’s hard to imagine that when Obermeier, a guitarist and singer, and drummer Chastain first met, they didn’t like each other at all.

“We were playing this little festival thing,” Chastain says. “I’d never met him before. We met outside and immediately got on each other’s nerves.”

“We really didn’t like each other,” Obermeier says. “We were playing with separate bands. It was so apparent we had absolutely nothing at all in common. And that was that. Or so we thought.”

A year later, the two met up again. “One of his buddies invited me to play drums and he happened to be there,” Chastain says. “We both realized, ‘You’re just like me.’ We’ve been best friends ever since.”

The duo’s name comes from an old game.

“It’s a Cajun twist on the French expression meaning rock, paper and scissors,” Chastain says. “I’ve had that band name on a piece of paper from when I was 12 or 13 and was coming up with band names.

“I came across some old papers and started going through them and found a couple of sheets of paper with possible band names,” he says. “It was so hard to find a name for what we were doing, and that happened to be it.”

The band has been surprisingly successful in a short period of time.

“This has been my full-time job for the last two years and I’m not having to work at Chick-fil-A,” Chastain says. “We’re doing what we want to do and still supporting our families.

“It’s been crazy,” he says. “The music we’re doing is so broad but so concentrated at the same time. People are responding super well to it.”

In just two years, Roshambeaux has established regular tour stops and garnered the attention of Gary Foote of Blood, Sweat and Tears, who heard the duo’s CD “Gaudy Monstrosity” and gave it high marks.

“We’ve gotten so much response and so many people wanting to help us, it’s been crazy,” Chastain says. “From management companies trying to get us onboard, to entertainment agencies, they’re really trying to help us out.”

A new album is in the works. Tracking starts in July, with an expected release early in 2013.

The two began playing music early in life. Obermeier’s parents sang Aretha Franklin, Elvis and The Drifters.

“I learned to play piano from one of the ladies at church and learned harmony by singing gospel tunes with my mom,” Obermeier says. “It made me socially, personally and musically ahead of the game.”

“I’ve been playing since I was born,” adds Chastain. “I got my first little guitar from my grandmother.

“I’m a band nerd and played in marching band and jazz band,” he says. “I’m 27 now and have been doing it non-stop. One year I didn’t play, and it was the worst year of my life.”

Chastain’s grandmother was in a local band. “I’ve always dreamed of playing professionally,” he says. “I’d go in my grandmother’s house and set it up to look like a stage when I was a kid and pretend I was a rock star.

“My dad was a drummer,” Chastain says. “My dad bought me a drum set when I was 10, set up the radio to play ZZ Top and said, ‘Son, play along.’”

The family didn’t have reunions, they had jam sessions, Chastain says. “At the family reunions, we’d pull as many musicians as we could to make sure we’d have as many instruments as we could,” he says. “Me and my dad switched out on drums.”

Even childhood nursery rhymes like “Three Little Pigs” became music lessons. “The right rhythm hand would be the wolf knocking on the door,” Chastain says. “My grandmother taught me guitar, but my heart’s always been in drums.”

Chastain’s family supported his musical talent, especially his dad and grandmother.

“They’re gone now,” he says. “I promised them I would never stop playing and doing what I loved.”

In college, Chastain studied small business and automotive technology, but he never stopped playing music. “When I met Kyle, we just clicked,” he says. “I knew it was reality then, when we were just getting out of college.”

Both Chastain and Obermeier are natives of Georgia. “We’ve been looking for some places to play in Savannah,” Chastain says. “We love the vibe of Savannah. It’s a great feeling when we’re there.

“We’ve done a couple of other World of Beers in South Carolina, so we figured that was a good place to start,” he says. “It’s going to be an awesome show. It’s going to be so much fun.”